Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/fingerringlorehiOOjone_0 FINGER-RING LORE LONDON : PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET 1 INGER-RING LORE HISTORICAL, LEGENDARY, ANECDOTAL BY WILLIAM JONES, F.S.A. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS lionilou , CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY 1877 TO MY WIFE: ^ 0 n C cc u r : 5 u n s |1 c u r. PREFACE. I HAD INTENDED to confine my ob9ervations exclu- sively to the subject of ‘ ring superstitions/ but in going through a wide field of olden literature I found so much of interest in connection with rings generally, that I have ventured to give the present work a more varied, and, I trust, a more attractive character. The importance of this branch of archaeology can- not be too highly appreciated, embracing incidents, historic and social, from the earliest times, brought to our notice by invaluable specimens of glyptic art, many of them of the purest taste, beauty, and excel- lency ; elucidating obscure points in the creeds and general usages of the past, types for artistic imitation, besides supplying links to fix particular times and events. In thus contributing to the extension of know- ledge, the subject of ring-lore has a close affinity to that of numismatics, but it possesses the supreme advantage of appealing to our sympathies and affec- tions. So Herrick sings of the wedding-ring : PREFACE. viii And as this round Is nowhere found To flaw, or else to sever, So let our love As endless prove. And pure as gold for ever ! It must be admitted that in many cases of par- ticular rings it is sometimes difficult to arrive at concurrent conclusions respecting their date and authenticity : much has to be left to conjecture, but the pursuit of enquiry into the past is always pleasant and instructive, however unsuccessful in its results. One of our most eminent antiquarians writes to me thus : ‘ We must not take for granted that everything in print is correct, for fresh information is from time to time obtained which shows to be incorrect that which was previously written.’ My acknowledgments are due to friends at home and abroad, whose collections of rings have been opened for my inspection with true masonic cordiality. I have also to thank the publishers of this work for the liberal manner in which they have illustrated the text. Many of the engravings are from drawings taken from the gem-room of the British, and from other museums, and from rare and costly works on the Fine Arts, not easily accessible to the general reader. Descriptions of rings without pictorial repre- sentations would (as in the case of coins) materially PREFACE. IX lessen their attraction, and would render the book what might be termed ‘ a garden without flowers.’ In conclusion I will adopt the valedictory lines of an old author, who writes in homely and deprecatory verse : FOR HERDE IT IS, A MAN TO ATTAYNE TO MAKE A THING PERFYTE, AT FIRST SIGHT, BUT WAN IT IS RED, AND WELL OVER SEYNE FAUTES MAY BE FOUNDE, THAT NEVER CAME TO LYGHT, THOUGH THE MAKER DO HIS DILIGENCE AND MIGHT. PRAYEING THEM TO TAKE IT,' AS I HAVE ENTENDED, AND TO FORGYVE ME, YF THAT I HAVE OFFENDED. C 0 N T E N r S. CHAPTER PACE 1 . Rings from' the Earliest Period . I II. Ring Superstitions 91 III. Secular Investiture by the Ring 177 IV. Rings in connection with Ecclesiastical Usages 198 V. Betrothal and Wedding Rings 275 VI. Token Rings .... 323 VII. Memorial and Mortuary Rings 355 VIII. Posy, Inscription, and Motto Rings . 390 IX. Customs and Incidents in connection Rings . . . . . WITH 419 X. Remarkable Rings 457 Appendix 499 ILLUSTRATIONS. Egyptian gold signet- ring Egyptian bronze rings Egyptian signet-rings Egyptian porcelain ring . Egyptian mummy, rings on the fingers of an Egyptian gold ring from Ghizeh Etiaiscan ring with chimerx . Roman-Egyptian ring Modern Egyptian rings . Modern Egyptian ring with double keepers . Etruscan ring representing the car of Admetus . Etruscan rings with serpents and beetle .... Etruscan ring with scarabeeus Etruscan ring with representa- tion of two spirits in combat Etruscan ring with intaglio Greek and Roman rings . Late Roman rings . Ring found at Silchester Ring of a group pattern . Ancient plain rings Iron ring of a Roman knight . Roman ring, crescent-shaped . ; ^ p.^iGE Roman ring of coloured paste . 28 Gallo-Roman ring representing a cow or bull . . .29 Roman thumb-ring . . 29 Roman ring, with a representa- tion of Janus . . -32 Roman ring, with figures of Egyptian deities . . -32 Roman ring, with busts ; from the Musee du Louvre . -33 Roman ring, with head of Re- gulus .... 34 Roman rings from Montfaucon 36, 37 , 38 Roman ring in the Florentine Cabinet . . . -39 I Roman ‘memorial’ gift-rings . 41 j Anglo- Roman . . .41 Anglo - Roman and Roman rings .... .42 Roman rings found at Lyons . 43 Roman bronze ring of a curious shape . ... -44 Roman key-rings . . -45 Roman rings, with inscription and monogram . . -47 Roman ‘ legionary ’ ring . 47 ‘AGE 2 4 6 9 10 15 15 17 17 19 19 20 20 21 22 23 24 24 24 25 26 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Roman ‘ legionary ’ ring . 48 Roman amber and glass rings . 48 Byzantine ring, from Mont- faucon . . . -49 Byzantine ring, found at Con- stantinople . . . .49 Rings from Herculaneum and Pompeii . . . -49 Roman bronze ring . . 50 Roman ‘ trophy ’ ring . . 50 Roman ring, from the Museum at Mayence . . -50 Roman key-rings , . • 5 ^ Roman, late, from the Water- ton Collection . . -52 Anglo-Saxon rings . . -53 Early British (?) ring found at Mahon . . . -54 Ring of King Ethelwulf . . 54 Anglo-Saxon rings , -58 Early Saxon rings found near Salisbury . . -59 South Saxon ring found in the Thames . . . .60 Ancient Irish rings found near Drogheda . . . .61 Early Irish gold ring . . 62 The ‘ Alhstan ’ ring . . 62 Anglo-Saxon ring found near Bosington . . . -63 Rings found at Cuerdale, near Preston . . • .64 Rings in the Royal Irish Academy . . . -65 Spiral silver ring, found at Lago . . . • .66 Ring found at Flodden Field . 66 Figured ring supposed to repre- sent St. Louis . . .67 PAGE Rings found in Pagan graves . 68 Rings of the Frankish and Merovingian periods . 69, 70 Gold ‘Middle Age’ ring, from the Louvre . . -71 Rings on the effigy of Lady Stafford . . . *72 Enamelled floral ring . . 75 ‘Merchant’s Mark ’ rings 75, 87 Ring of the sixteenth century . 76 Ring of Frederic the Great . 76 Venetian ring . . .76 Italian diamond-pointed ring . 76 Italian symbolical ring . -77 Venetian ring . . -78 East Indian ring, with drops of silver . . . .78 Indian rings . . . *79 Spanish ring . . . -79 ‘ Giardinetti ’ or guard rings . 79 French rings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries . 80 ‘Escutcheon’ ring, French . 81 French rings . 81, 82, 83 Moorish rings . . .82 Bavarian peasant’s ring . . 84 Thumb-rings . . 89, 90, 139 Divination-rings . . loi, 102 Roman amulet-rings 104, 105, 107 Astrological ring . . , 108 Zodiacairing. . . .110 Amulet rings 126, 138, 141, 151, 152 Charm-rings . . • I 33 > 153 Talismanic rings 134, 135, 136 Cabalistic rings . . 139; 147 Mystical rings . . . 140 Rings of the Magi . . . 143 Rings with mottoes, worn as medicaments . . .148 ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 157, 163, Club of Rings, Runic Toadstone rings Cramp rings . Serjeant’s ring Ring of the ‘ Beef Steal The Fisherman’s Ring . Ring of Thierry, Bishop Verdun .... Ring of Pope Pius II. Papal rings .... Episcopal rings* 217, 226, 230, Episcopal thumb-ring Ring of Archbishop Sewall Ring of Archbishop Greenfiekl 225 Ring of Bishop Stanbery . 226 Decade ring with figure of St, 158 190 193 199 204 206 208 231 219 225 Catherine (?) • • • 249 Decade thumb-ring . . 249 Silver decade ring . . .250 Decade ring found near Croy- don ..... 250 Decade signet-ring . . -251 Decade rings . . . 251, 252 Decade ring of Delhi work . 253 Trinity ring . . . .254 Religious rings 254, 255, 256, 260, 261, 262, 263 ‘Paradise’ rings . . *257 Reliquary ring . . *257 Early Christian rings 258, 259, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273 Ecclesiastical ring . . . 264 Pilgrim ring .... 264 Roman key-rings . . . 294 Hebrew marriage and betrothal rings . . . 299, 300, 302 Byzantine ring . . . 304 Betrothal ring . • . 307 Half of broken betrothal ring . 309 I'Acai Jointed betrothal ring 314 Gemmel ring, found at llorse- lydown . . . ' . 316 Ring with representation of Lu- cretia .... 31S Wedding-ring of Sir Thomas Gresham .... 319 Gemmel ring .... 319 ‘Claddugh’ ring . 320 Betrothal ring with sacred in- scription .... 321 Devices on wedding rings 322 The ‘Devereux’ ring 338 The ‘ Essex ’ ring , 342 Old mourning ring 360 Memorial rings, Charles I. 366, 367, 370 Royalist memorial ring . 370 Memorial and mortuary rings . 373 Squared-work diamond ring found in Ireland 380 Mortuary rings at Mayence 381, 382 Gold rings from Etruscan se- pulchres . . , . 383 Ring found at Amiens , 383 Ring found in the tomb of William Rufus, Winchester Cathedral . . . . 385 Ring discovered in Winchester Cathedral . . . . 385 Ring of Childeric . 386 Motto and device rings . 390, 406 Posy-ring . . . 391, 417 Inscription rings 410, 411,412, 417 New Year’s gift ring . 421,422 Poison- rings .... 433 Dial-rings . . . 452, 453 Signet-ring of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Darnley ring 460 XVI ILLUSTRA no NS. PAGE Supposed ring of Roger, King of Sicily .... 465 The Worsley seal-ring . .467 Ring of Saint Louis . . 469 Ring-devices of the Medici family . . . 472, 473 Ring found at Kenilworth Castle .... 474 PAGE Heraldic ring . . .481 Martin Luther’s betrothal and marriage rings . 481, 482, 483 Shakspeare’s ring (?) . . 484 Initials of Sir Thomas Lucy, at Charlecote Hall . . 486 Ivory-turned rings . . . 488 Squirt ring .... 494 -FINGER-RING LORE. CHAPTER I. RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. The use of signet-rings as symbols of great respect and authority is mentioned in several parts of the Holy Scrip- tures, from which it would seem that they were then common among persons of rank. They were sometimes wholly of metal, but frequently the inscription was borne on a stone, set in gold or silver. The impression from the signet-ring of a monarch gave the force of a royal decree to any instru- ment to which it was attached. Hence the delivery or transfer of it gave the power of using the royal name, and created the highest office in the State. In Genesis (xli. 42) we find that Joseph had conferred upon him the royal signefi as an insignia of authority.^ Thus Ahasuerus transferred his V* In 1841 Mr. Joseph Bonomi read a paper before the Royal Society of Literature on an ancient signet-ring of gold, resembling in every respect, except the name of the king, the ring which Pharaoh put on the finger of Joseph. The account of its purchase, loss, and subse- quent recovery is very interesting. It was bought by Lord Ashburn- ham at Cairo in 1825. In the spring of the same year his Lordship embarked a valuable collection on board a brig he had chartered at Alexandria, to carry his heavy baggage to Smyraa. This was attacked and pillaged by Greek pirates, who sold their booty in the island of Syra. The ring then became the property of a Greek merchant, in B FINGER-RING LORE. authority to Hainan (Esther iii. 12). The ring was also used as a pledge for the performance of a promise : Judah whose possession it remained until it was sold at Constantinople, and was brought to England in 1840. It then passed from the hands of Mr. Bonomi into those of Lord Ashburnham, its former possessor. It is conjectured, from evidence peculiar to Egyptian antiquities, that this ring belonged to the age of Thothmes III. In the winter of 1824 a discovery was made in Sakkara of a tomb enclosing a mummy entirely cased in solid gold (each limb, each finger of which had its particular envelope inscribed with hieroglyphxs), a scarab^eus attached to a gold chain, a gold ring, and a pair of bracelets of gold with other valuable relics. This account was wrested from the excavators a coups de administered by Mohammed Defterdar Bey, by which means were recovered to Signor Drovetti (at whose charge the excavation was made) the scarabeeus and gold chain, a fragment of the gold envelope, and the bracelets, now in the Leyden Museum, which bear the same name as this ring. From the circumstance of the bracelets bearing the same name as this ring, and from the Avord Pthah, the name of the tutelar divinity of Memphis (of which city Sakkara was the necropolis) being also inscribed upon it, there is little doubt it was found in that place, and, from the confession of the Arabs, a great probability that it came out of the same excavation. The discovery of so much gold in a single tomb, which, from the nature of the orna- ments, must have belonged to the Pharaoh himself, or to a distinguished officer of his household, accords well with Mr. Cory’s system of chrono- logy, which places the death of the patriarch Joseph in the twenty-first RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 3 promised to send Tamar, his daughter-in-law, a kid from his flock, and for fulfilment left with her (at her desire) his signet, his bracelet, and his staff (Genesis xxxviii. 17, 18). Darius sealed with his ring the mouth of the den of lions (Daniel vi. 17). Queen Jezebel, to destroy Naboth, made use of the ring of Ahab, King of the Israelites, her husband, to seal the counterfeit letters ordering the death of that un- fortunate man. The Scriptures tell us that, when Judith arrayed herself to meet Holofernes, among other rich decorations she wore bracelets, ear-rings, and rings. The earliest materials of which rings were made was of pure gold, and the metal usually very thin. The Israelitish people wore not only rings on their fingers, but also in their nostrils' and ears. Josephus, in the third book of his K\ntiquities,’ states that they had the use of them after passing the Red Sea, because Moses, on his return from Sinai, found that the men had made the golden calf from their wives’ rings and other ornaments. Moses permitted the use of gold rings to the priests whom he had established. The nomad people called Midianites, who were conquered by Moses, and eventually overthrown year of the reign of Thothmes III., at which period the treasury of Pharaoh must have been well stored with the precious material of these ornaments accumulated by the prudent administration of the patriarch. Assuming, therefore, that Mr. Cory’s system is correct, this ring may be regarded, not only as an excellent specimen of that kind called Tabat (a word still used in Egypt to signify a stamp or seal) , but also as resembling in every respect, excepting the name, the ring which Pharaoh put on the hand of Joseph. ^ Mr. Layard, in ‘ Nineveh and Its Remains,’ describes the wife of an Arab Sheikh, whom he met, as having a nose adorned with a pro- digious gold ring, set with jewels of such ample dimensions that it covered her mouth, and was obliged to be removed when she ate. FINGER-RING LORE. by Gideon (Numbers xxxi.), possessed large numbers of rings among their personal ornaments. The Jews wore the signet-ring on the right hand, as appears from a passage in Jeremiah (xxii. 24). The words of the Lord are uttered against Zedekiah : ‘ though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, were the signet on my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence.’ We are not to assume, however, that all ancient seals, being signets, were rings intended to be worn on the hand. ‘ One of the largest Egyptian signets I have seen,’ remarks Sir J. G. Wilkinson, ‘ was in possession of a French gentle- man of Cairo, which contained twenty pounds’ worth of gold. It consisted of a massive ring, half an inch in its largest diameter, bearing an oblong plinth, on which the devices were engraved, i inch long, y^ths in its greatest, and yy-As in its smallest, breadth. On one side was the name of a king, the successor of x\munoph III., who lived about four- teen hundred years before Christ ; on the other a lion, with the legend “ Lord of Strength,” referring to the monarch. On one side a scorpion, and on the other a crocodile.’ I'his ring passed into the Waterton Dactyliotheca, and is now the property of the South Kensington Museum. Egyptian Bronze Rings. Rings of inferior metal, engraved with the king’s name, may, probably, have been worn by officials of the court. In die Londesborough collection is a bronze ring, bearing on RINGS FROM HIE EARLIEST PERIOD. 5 the oval face the name of Amunoph III., the same monarch known to the Greeks as ‘Memnon.^’ The other ring, also of bronze, has engraved on the face a scarabieus. Such rings were worn by the Egyptian soldiers. In the British Museum are some interesting specimens of Egyptian rings with representations of the scarabaeus,* or beetle. These rings generally bear the name of the wearer, * The Egyptians made the scarabseus the symbol of the world, because it rolled its excrements into a globe ; of the sun ; of the moon, from horns ; one-horned, of Mercury ; of generation, because it buried the bowls in which it included its eggs, &;c. ; of an only son, because they believed that every beetle was male and female ; of valour, manly power, &c., whence they forced all the soldiers to wear a ring upon which a beetle was engraved. All these superstitions are very ancient, for they occur upon the sepulchres of Biban-el-Molook, and are traced to the Indians, Hottentots, and other, nations. In the hiero- glyphs it is used for the syllable Khepra., and expresses the verb ‘to be, exist. ’ In connection with Egyptian notions, the Gnostics and some of the Fathers called Christ the Scarabaeus. ‘The usual mode of mounting the scarab,’ observes the Rev. C. W. King, in ‘ Antique Gems, ’ ‘ as a finger-ring, was, the swivel., a wire as a pivot passing through the longitudinal perforation of the stone (the edge of which was generally protected by a gold rim), and then brought through holes in each end of a bar of gold, or else of a broad, flat band of plaited wire, and bent into a loop of sufficient size to admit the finger, which was usually the fore-finger of the left hand. For the sake of security, the ends of the loop were formed into small disks, touching each extremity of the scarabaeus. This loop, or ring shank, as it may be considered, was treated in a great variety of fashions, and sometimes was made extremely ornamental. One that I have seen, terminated in rams’ heads, the pivot entering the mouth of each ; in another the shank was formed as a serpent, the head of which was one of the supporting points, and the tail tied into a knot. Occasionally the form of the shank was varied by bending the bar upon itself, so as to form a bow in the middle of its length ; the ends were then beaten to a point, which, being twisted inwards, passed into the opposite holes of the stone, and thus formed a handle to the signet. This last manner of mounting the scarabaeus was often used by the Egyptians, the shank being made of every kind of metal ; it was also the common setting of the Phoenician stones of this form.’ 6 FINGER-RING LORE. the name 9f the monarch in whose reign he lived, and also the emblems of certain deities ; they were so set in the gold ring as to allow the scarab^iis to revolve on its centre, it being pierced for that purpose. Colonel Barnet possesses an Egyptian signet-ring formed by a scarab sens set in gold. It was found on the little finger of a splendid gilded mummy at Thebes. In all pro- bability the wearer of the ring had been a royal scribe, as by his side was found a writing- tablet of stone. On the breast was a large scarabaeus of green porphyry, set in gold. The Rev. Henry Mackenzie, of Yarmouth, possesses an Egyptian scarabaeus, a signet-ring, set with an intaglio, on cornelian, found in the bed of a deserted branch of the Euphrates, in the district of Hamadan in Persia. The en- graving is unfinished, the work is polished in the intaglio, and the date has therefore been supposed not later than the time of the Greeks in Persia, circa 325 b.c. Egyptian Signet-rings. The representations here given illustrate the large and massive Egyptian signet-ring, and also a lighter kind of hooped signet, ^ as generally worn at a somewhat more recent period in Egypt. The gold loop passes through a small figure of the sacred beetle, the flat under-side being engraved with-the device of a crab.’ RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 7 In the British Museum, in the first Egyptian Room, is the signet-ring of Queen Sebek-nefru (Sciemiophris). ‘ Sebek ’ was a popular component of proper names after the twelfth dynasty, probably because this queen was beloved by the people. On Assyrian sculptures are found armlets and bracelets ; rings do not appear to have been generally worn. At a meeting of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, in June 1873, Dr. H. F. Talbot, F.R.S., read an interesting paper on the legend of ‘ Ishtar descending to Hades,’ in which he translated from the tablets the goddess’s voluntary descent into the Assyrian Inferno. In the cuneiform it is called ‘ the land of no return.’ Ishtar passes successively through the seven gate^, compelled to surrender her jewels, viz. her crown, ear-rings, head-jewels, frontlets, girdle, fijigci'- and tOQ-rmgs, and necklace. A cup full of the Waters of Life is given to her, whereby she returns to the upper world, receiving at each gate of Hades the jewels she had been deprived of in her descent. Mr. Greene, F.S.A., has an Egyptian gold ring, formerly in the possession of the late Mr. Salt, belonging to the nineteenth dynasty, probably from the Lower Country, below Memphis. It is engraved with a representation of the goddess Nephthis, or Neith. Another gold ring of a, later period, from the Upper Country, dates, probably, from the time of Psammitichus, b.c. 671 to 617. In the collection of Egyptian antiquities formed by the late R. Hay, Esq., of Limplum, N.B., were two Graeco- Egyptian gold rings, found, it is conjectured, in the Aasa- seef, near Thebes. One of these is of the usual signet form, but without an inscription j the other is of an Etruscan pattern, and is composed of a spiral wire, whose extremities 8 FINGER-RING LORE. end in a twisted loop, with knob-like intersections. Both these objects are of fine workmanship, and are wrought in very pure gold. Sir J. G. Wilkinson, in ‘ Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,’ remarks : ‘ The rings were mostly of gold, and this metal seems always to have been preferred to silver for rings and other articles of jewellery. Silver rings are, however, occasionally to be met with, and two in my possession, which were accidentally found in a temple at Thebes, are engraved with hiero- glyphics, containing the name of the royal city. Bronze was seldom used for rings ; some have been discovered of brass and iron (of a Roman time), but ivory and blue porcelain were the materials of which those worn by the lower classes were usually made.’ The Rev. C. W. King observes : ‘ I have seen finger- rings of ivory of the Egyptian period, their heads engraved with sphinxes and figures of eyes cut in low relief as camei, and originally coloured.’ The porcelain finger- rings of ancient Egypt are ex- tremely beautiful, the band of the ring being seldom above one eighth of an inch in thickness. Some have a plate in which in bas-relief is the god Baal, full-faced,_ playing on the tambourine, as the inventor of music ; others have their plates in the shape of the right symbolical eye, the emblem of the sun, of a fish of the perch species, or of a scarabaeus. Som.e few represent flowers. Those which have elliptical plates with hieroglyphical inscriptions bear the names of Amen-Ra, and of other gods and monarchs, as Amenophis III., Amenophis IV., and Amenmest of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties. One of these rings has a little bugle on each side, as if it had been strung on the beaded work of a mummy, instead of being placed on the finger. RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD, 9 Blue is the prevalent colour, but a few white and yellow rings, and some even ornamented with red and purple colours, have been discovered. It is scarcely credible that these rings, of a substance finer and more fragile than glass, were worn during life, and it seems hardly likely that they were worn by the poorer classes, for the use of the king’s name on sepulchral objects seems to have been restricted to functionaries of state. Some larger rings of porcelain of about an inch in diameter, seven-eighths of an inch broad, and one-sixteenth of an inch thick, made in open work, represents the constantly-repeated lotus-flowers, and the god Ra, or the sun, seated and floating through the heavens in his boat. At the Winchester meeting of the Archaeological Institute in 1845 a curious swivel-ring of blue porcelain was exhibited, found at Abydus in Upper Egypt ; setting modern. It has a double impression : on the one side is the king making an offering to the gods, with the emblems of life and purity; on the other side the name of the monarch in the usual ‘ cartouche,’ one that is well known, being that of Thothmes III., whom Wilkinson supposes to have been the Pharaoh of Exodus. It is worthy of remark that this cartouche is ‘ supported ’ by asps, which are usually considered to be the attributes of royalty. The annexed engraving represents an Egyptian ring, e 7 i pate ceramiqiie^ from M. Dieulafait’s ‘ Diamants et Pierres PreCieilSeS ^ Egyptian Porcelain Ring. The signet of Sennacherib in the British Museum is made of Amazon stone, one of the hardest stones known to the lapidary, and bears an intaglio ‘ which,’ observes the lO FINGER-RING LORE. Rev. C. W. King, ‘ by its extreme minuteness, and the precision of the drawing, displays the excellence to which the art had already attained.’ On a mummy-case in the British Museum is a repre- sentation of a woman with crossed hands, covered with rings ; the left hand is most loaded. Upon the thumb is a signet with hieroglyphics on the surface, three rings on the forefinger, two on the second, one formed like a snail shell, the same number on the next, and one on the little finger. The right hand carries only a thumb ring, and two upon the third finger. Sir J. G. Wilkinson observes : ‘ The left was considered the hand peculiarly privileged to bear these ornaments ; and it is remarkable that its third finger was decorated with a greater number than any other, and was considered by them, as by us, pai' excellence^ the ring-finger, though there is no evidence of its having been so honoured at the marriage ceremony.’ The same author mentions that rings were a favourite decoration among the Egyptians ; women wore sometimes RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. I two or three on the same finger. They were frequently worn on the thumb. Some were simple, others had an engraved stone, and frequently bore the name of the owner ; others the monarch in whose time he lived, and they were occasionally in the form of a snail, a knot, a snake, or some fancy device. A cat — emblem of the goddess Bast, or Pasht, the Egyptian Diana— was a favourite subject for ladies’ rings. One of the oldest, if not the most ancient ring known, is supposed to be that in the collection of Dr. Abbot, of Cairo, now preserved with his other Egyptian antiquities at New York. It is thus described by him : — ‘This remarkable piece of antiquity is in the highest state of preservation, Egyptian Gold Ring, from Ghizeh. and was found at Ghizeh, in a tomb near the excavation of Colonel Vyse, called Campbell’s tomb. It is of fine gold, and weighs nearly three sovereigns. The style of the hieroglyphics within the oval make the name of that Pharaoh (Cheops, Shofo) of whom 'the pyramid was the tomb. The details are minutely accurate and beautifully executed. The heaven is engraved with stars ; the fox or jackal has significant lines within its contour ; the hatchets have their handles bound with thongs, as is usual in the sculptures j the volumes have the strings which bind them hanging below the roll — differing in this respect from any 2 FINGER-RING LORE. example in sculptured or painted hieroglyphics. The deter- minative for country is studded with dots, representing the land of the mountains at the margin of the valley of Egypt. The instrument, as in the larger hieroglyphics, has the tongue and semi-lunar mark of the sculptured examples ; as is the case also with the heart-shaped vase. The name is surmounted with the globe and feathers, decorated in the usual manner ; and the ring of the cartouche is engraved with marks representing a rope, never seen in the sculptures; and the only instance of a royal name similarly encircled is a porcelain example in this collection, inclosing the name ot the father of Sesostris. The O in the name is placed as in the examples sculptured in the tombs, not in the axis of the cartouche ; the chickens have their unfledged wings ; the cerastes its horns, now only to be seen with a magnify- ing glass.’ In a lecture to the deaf and dumb in St. Saviour’s Hall, Oxford Street, London (October 1875), on ‘ Eastern Manners and Customs,’ amongst various relics exhibited was the hand of a female mummy, on one finger of which was a gold ring, with the signet of one of the Pharaohs. A gold ring exhibited at the exhibition of antiquities at the Ironmongers’ Hall, in 1861, had hieroglyphics meaning ‘ protected by the living goddess Mu.’ Among some interesting specimens of Egyptian rings exhibited at the South Kensington Loan Exhibition of 1872 I may mention an antique ring of pale gold, with a long oval bezel chased in intaglio, with representation of a sistriim (timbrel, used by the Egyptians in their religious ceremonies), the property of Viscount Hawarden ; an antique ring of pale gold (belonging to Lady Ashburton), formed of a slender wire, the ends twisted round the RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 13 shoulders, upon which is stmng a signet, in form of a cat, made of greenish-blue glazed earthenware. From the collection of R. H. Soden Smith, Esq. F.S.A., an ancient pale gold ring, with revolving cylinders of lapis- lazuli, engraved with hieroglyphics ; the shoulders of the hoop wrapped round with wire ornament. The Waterton Collection contains Egyptian rings of various descriptions : one of silver, with revolving bezel of cornelian representing the symbolical right eye. Several rings of glazed earthenware ; one of gold, very massive, with revolving scarab of glazed earthenware, partially encased in gold. A gold ring, the hoop of close-corded work, re- volving bezel with blood-stone scarab, engraved with Hathor and child. The same engraving is on a gold signet-ring, with vesica-shaped bezel, and upon a white-metal ring, where the figures are surrounded by lotus-flowers. Another gold sig- net-ring is engraved with the figure of Amen-ra ; a probably Egyptian white-metal ring, with narrow oblong bezel, en- graved with a frieze of figures, and winged Genii, divided by candelabra. Several of the Egyptian rings in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris date from the reign of King Moeris. One of the oldest rings extant is that of Cheops, the founder of the Great Pyramid, which was found in a tomb there. It is of gold, with hieroglyphics. The Egyptian glass -workers produced small mosaics of the most minute and delicate finish, and sufficiently small to be worn on rings. Dr. Birch, in a very interesting paper communicated to the Society of Antiquaries, at the meeting of November 17, 1870, observes, with regard to the scarabaei and signet-rings of the ancient Egyptians, that the use of these curious 14 FINGER-RING LORE. objects (the exhibition comprising upwards of five hundred scarabs from the collection of Egyptian antiquities formed by the late R. Hay, Esq., of Sinplum, N.B., to which I have alluded) dates back from a remote period of Egyptian history. ‘ As it is well known, they were not merely made in porcelain, but also in steatite, or stea-schist, and .the various semi-precious stones suitable for engraving, such as cornelian, sard, and such-like.’ In the time of the twelfth dynasty the cylindrical ring, also found in use among the Assyrians and Babylonians, came into vogue. The hard stones and gems were of later introduction, probably under the influence of Greek art, for the ancient Egyptians themselves do not appear to have possessed the method of cutting such hard substances. A few, however, exist, which are clearly of great antiquity — as, for example, a specimen in yellow jasper now in the British Museum. The principal purpose to which these scarabs were applied was to form the revolving bezel of a signet-ring, the substance in which the impression was taken being a soft clay, with which a letter was sealed. It is singular that some of these objects have been found in rings fixed with the plane engraved side inwards, render- ing them unfit for the purposes of sealing. It is well known that the use of these scarabs was so extensive as to have prevailed beyond Egypt, being adopted by the Phoenicians and the Etruscans. On this subject the Rev. C. W. King remarks that gold rings, even of the Etruscan period, are very rare, the signets of that nation still retaining the form of scarabsei. ‘ The most magnificent Etruscan ring known, belonging once to the Prince de Canino, and now in the matchless collection of antique gems in the British Museum, is formed of the RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 15 fore-parts of two lions, whose bodies compose the shank, whilst their heads and fore-paws support the signet — a small sand scarab, engraved with a lion regardant^ and set in an elegant bezel of filagree-work. The two lions are beaten up in full relief of thin gold plate, in a stiff archaic style, but very carefully finished.’ The Waterton Collection contains a gold ring of Etruscan workmanship, of singular beauty. It is described by Padre Geruchi, of the Sacred College, as a betrothal or nuptial ring. It has figures of Hercules and Juno placed back to back on the hoop, having their arms raised above their heads. Hercules is covered with the skin of a lion, Juno with that of a goat. Fairholt, in ‘ Rambles of an Archaeologist,’ describes an ancient Etruscan ring in the British Museum, with chimerae on it opposing each other. The style and treatment partake largely of ancient Eastern art. There is also in the Roman-Egyptian. Etruscan, with Chimerae. same collection a remarkable ring having the convolutions of a serpent, the head of Serapis at one extremity and of Isis at the other j by this arrangement one or other of them would always be correctly posited j it has, also, the further advantage of being flexible, owing to the great sweep of its curve. Silver rings are rarer than those of gold in i6 FINGER-RING LORE. the tombs of Etruria, and iron and bronze examples are gilt All the Hindoo Mogul divinities of antiquity had rings ; the statues of the gods at Elephanta, supposed to be of the highest antiquity, had finger-rings. The Rev. C. W. King describes a ring in the Waterton collection, of remarkable interest — apparently dating from the Lower Empire, for the head is much thrown up, and has the sides pierced into a pattern, the mtei'i'asile opus, so much in fashion during those times. It is set with two diamonds of (probably) a carat each : one a perfect octahe- dron of considerable lustre, the other duller and irregularly crystallised. Another such example might be sought for in vain throughout the largest cabinets of Europe.’ After the conquest of Asia Alexander the Great used the signet-ring of Darius to seal his edicts to the Persians ; his own signet he used for those addressed to the Greeks. Xerxes, King of Persia, was a great gem- fancier, but his chief signet was a portrait, either of himself, or of Cyrus, the founder of the monarchy. He also wore a ring with the figure of Anaitis, the Babylonian Venus, upon it. Thucy- dides says that the Persian kings honoured their subjects by giving them rings with the likenesses of Darius and Cyrus. The late Mr. Fairholt purchased in Cairo a ring worn by an Egyptian lady of the higher class. It is a simple hoop of twisted gold, to which hangs a series of pendant ornaments, consisting of small beads of coral, and thin plates of gold, cut to represent the leaves of a plant. As the hands move, these ornaments play about the finger, and a very brilliant effect might be produced if diamonds were used in the pendants. RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 17 The rings worn by the middle class of Egyptian men are usually of silver, set with mineral stones, and are valued as the work of the silversmiths of Mecca, that sacred city being supposed to exert a holy influence on all the works it origi- nates. Modern Egyptian Rings. A curious ring with a double keeper is worn by Egyptian men. It is composed entirely of common cast silver, set with mineral stone. The lowermost keeper, of twisted wire, is first put on the finger, then follows the ring. The second keeper is then brought down upon it : the two being held by a brace which passes at the back of the ring, and gives security to the whole. Tavernier states in his ‘ Tra- vels ' that the Persians did not make gold rings, their religion forbidding the wearing of any article of that metal during prayers, it would have been too troublesome to take them off every time they performed their devotions. The gems mounted in gold rings, sold by Tavernier to the King, were reset in silver by native workmen. c Modem Egyptian Ring, with Double Keepers. i8 FINGER-RING LORE. The custom of wearing rings may have been introduced into Greece from Asia, and into Italy from Greece. They served the twofold purpose, ornamental and useful, being employed as a seal, which was called sphragts, a name given to the gem or stone on which figures were engraved. The Homeric poems make mention of ear-rings only, but in the later Greek legends the ancient heroes are represented as wearing finger-rings. Counterfeit stones in rings are mentioned in the time of Solon. Transparent stones when extracted from the remains of the original iron-rings of the ancients are sometimes found backed by a leaf of red gold as a foil.^ The use of coloured foils was merely to deceive and impose upon the unwary, by giving to a very inferior jewel the finest colour. Solon made a law prohibiting sellers of rings from keeping the model of a ring they had sold. The Lacedaemonians, according to the laws of Lycurgus, had only iron rings, despising those of gold ; either that the King devised thereby to retrench luxury, or not to permit the use of them. The Etruscans and the Sabines wore rings at the period of the foundation of Rome, 753 b.c. The Etruscans made rings of great value. They have been found of every variety — with precious stones, of massive gold, very solid, with engraved stones of remarkable beauty. Among Etruscan rings in the Musee Nap. III. the table of one offers a representation, enlarged, of the story of Admetus, the King of Pherae in Thessaly. He took part in the expedition of the Argonauts, and sued for the hand of Alcestis, the daughter of Pelias, who promised him to her on condition that he should come to her in a chariot drawn Appendix. RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 19 by lions and boars. This feat Admetus performed by the assistance of Apollo, who served him, according to some accounts, out of attachment to him, or, according to others, because he was obliged to serve a mortal for one year, for having slain the Cyclops. Among rings taken out ot the tombs there are some in the form of a knot or of a serpent. They are frequently found with Representation of Admetus. Etruscan (Admetu.s). shields of gold, and of that form which we call Gothic, that is elliptical and pointed, called by foreigners ogive^ Etrusca with raised subjects chiselled on the gold, or with onyxs of the same form, but polished and surrounded with gold. 20 FINGER-RING LORE. There are some particular rings which appear more adapted to be used as seals than rings, and they have on the shields, relievos of much more arched, and almost Egyptian, formd Among the antique jewels at the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris are two fine specimens of Etruscan rings. One is of gold, on which is a scarabaeus in cornelian ; the stomach Etruscan. of the scarabaeus is engraved hollow and represents a naked man holding a vase. The other is a gold ring found in a tomb at Etruria, of which the bezel, sculptured in relief, could not serve as a seal. The subject is a divinity combating with two spirits, a repre- sentation of the eastern idea of the struggles between the two principles of good and evil, such as are found on numerous cylinders that come from the borders of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This analogy between the re- ligious ideas of the Etruscans and Etruscan. those of the most ancient monuments of the East is not ' Cellini, in his ‘ Memoirs,’ says that Pope Clement VIL showed him a gold Etruscan necklace of exquisite workmanship, which had just been discovered in the ground. On examining it, ‘Alas,’ cried he, ‘it is better not to imitate these Etruscans, for we should be nothing but their humble servants. Let us rather strike out a new path, which will, at least, have the merit of originality. ’ RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 21 astonishing when it is shown that the Etruscans, the ancient inhabitants of Italy, were originally from Asia. The follow- ing engraving represents an intaglio on a scarabaeus ring, of fine workmanship, preserved in Vienna. At a meeting of the Archaeo- logical Institute (May 3, 1850) the Dowager Duchess of Cleveland ex- hibited a curious Roman ring of pure gold (weight 182 grains), of which an illustration is given in the Journal of the Institute (vol. vii. p. 190). ‘ It was found, with other remains, at Pierse Bridge (Ad Tisam), county of Durham, where the vestiges of a rect- angular encampment may be dis- tinctly traced. The hoop, wrought by the hammer, is joined by welding the extremities together ; to this is attached an oval facet, the metal engraved in intaglio, the impress being two human heads respectant., probably male and female — the prototype of the numerous “ love seals ” of a later period. The device on the ring is somewhat effaced, but evidently represented two persons gazing at each other. This is not the first Roman example of the kind found in England. The device appears on a ring, apparently of that period, found on Stanmore Common in 1781. On the mediaeval seals alluded to, the heads are usually accompanied by the motto “ Love me, and I thee,” to which, also, a counterpart is found among relics of a more remote age. Galeotti, in his curious illustrations of the “ Gemmae Antiquae Litteratae,” in the collection of Eicoroni, gives an intaglio engraved with the words “ Amo te, ama me.” ’ Etruscan 22 FINGER-RING LORE. The following engravings represent : A ring in the Musee du Louvre, with a lion sculptured by a Greek artist, in an oriental cornelian ; the reverse has an intaglio of a lion couchant. The second, from the Webb Collection, is that of an ancient Greek ring, of solid gold, with the repre- sentation of a comic mask in high relief The other, a gold ring with a bearded mask, Roman, in the Waterton Collection at the South Kensington Museum — also in high relief — has the shoulders thickened with fillets, engraved with stars. Greek. Greek. Roman. A singular discovery of Roman relics was made in 1824 at Terling Place, near Witham, Essex, by some workmen forming a new road ; the earth being soaked by heavy rains the cart-wheels sank up to their naves. The driver of the cart saw some white spots upon the mud adhering to the wheels, which proved to be coins. On further search a small vase was discovered in which had been deposited with some coins, two gold rings, which are interesting examples of late Roman work ; and representations of these, by Lord Rayleigh’s permission, were given in the ‘ Journal of the Archaeological Institute ’ (vol. iii. p. 163) and are here shown. One of the rings is set with a colourless crackly crystal, or pasta., uncut and en cabochon ; the other with a paste formed of two layers, the upper being of a dull smalt colour, the R2NGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD 23 lower dark brown. The device is apparently an ear of corn. Late Roman. The Hertz Collection contained a well-formed octa- hedral diamond, about a carat in weight, set open in a Roman ring of unquestionable authenticity. At the Loan Exhibition of Ancient and Modern Jewellery at the South Kensington Museum, in 1872, John Evans Esq., F.S.A., contributed a series of seven rings, gold and silver, Roman, set with antique stones j one very massive, of silver and gold, set with intaglio on nicolo onyx ; one with an angular hoop, and another with beaded ornaments. ‘ Though,’ remarks Mr. Fairholt, ‘ a great variety of form and detail was adopted by Greek and Roman goldsmiths for the rings they so largely manufactured, the most general and lasting resembled a Roman ring, probably of the time of Hadrian, which is said to have been found in the Roman camp at Silchester, Berkshire. The gold of the ring is massive at the face, making a strong setting for the cor- nelian, which is engraved with the figure of a female bearing corn and fruit. By far the greater majority of Roman rings exhumed at home and abroad are of this fashion, which recommends itself by a dignified simplicity, telling by quantity and quality of metal and stone its true value, 24 FINGER-RING LORE. without any obtrusive aid.’ Sometimes a single ring was constructed to appear like a group of two or three upon the finger. Mr. Charles Edwards, of New York, in his ‘ History and Poetry of Finger Rings,’ has given an example of this kind of ring. Upon the wide part of each are two letters, the whole forming ‘ zhcaic,’ fiiayst thou live f Ring found at Silchester. Group Pattern. ‘ The simplest and most useful form of rings, and that by consequence adopted by people of all early nations, was the plain elastic hoop. Cheap in construction and con- venient in wear, it may be safely said to have been generally patronised from the most ancient to the most modern times.’ An engraving by Mr. Fairholt represents ‘ the old form of a ring made in the shape of a coiled serpent, equally ancient, equally far-spread in the old world, and which has had a very large sale among ourselves as a decided novelty. In fact, it has been the most successful design our ring-makers have produced of late years.’ Ancient Plain Rings. The statues of Numa and Serviiis Tullius were repre- sented with rings, while those of the other Kings had none; RINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 25 which would induce the belief that the use of rings was little known in the early days of Rome. Pliny ' states that the first date in Roman history in which he could trace any general use of rings was in a.u.c. 449, in the time of Cneius Flavius, the son of Annins. Less than a century before Christ, Mithridates, the famous King of Pontus, possessed a museum of signet-rings ; later, Scaurus, the stepson of the Dictator, Sylla, had a collection of signet-rings, but inferior to that of Mithridates, which, having become the spoil of Pompey, was presented by him to the Capitol. In Rome every freeman had the right to use the iron ring, which was worn to the last period of the Republic, by such men as loved the simplicity of the good old times. Among these was Marius, who, as Pliny tells us, wore an iron ring in his triumph after the subjugation of Jugurtha. In the early days of the Empire the jus anmili seems to have elevated the wearer to the equestrian order. Those who committed any crime forfeited the distinction, and this shows us the estimation in which the ring, as an emblem of honour, was regarded. We are told of Caesar that when address- ing his soldiers after the passage of the Rubicon he often held up the little finger of his left hand, protesting that he would pledge even to his ring to satisfy the claims of those iron Ring of a who defended his cause. The soldiers of Knight, the furthest ranks, who could see but not hear him, mistak- ing the gesture, imagined that he was promising to each man the dignity of a Roman Knight. Gold rings appear to have been first worn by ambassa- . * Appendix. 26 FINGER-RING LORE. dors to a foreign State, but only during a diplomatic mission; in private they wore their iron ones. In the course of time it became customary for all the senators, chief magistrates, and the equites to wear a gold seal- ring. This practice, which was subsequently termed the jiLs annuli anrei^ or the jus annulorum., remained for several centuries at Rome their exclusive privilege, while others con- tinued to wear the iron ring. In Plutarch’s Life of Cains Marius he mentions that the slaves of Cornutus concealed their master at home, and hanging up by the neck the body of some obscure person, and putting a gold ring on his finger, they showed him to the guards of Marius, and then wrapping up the body as if it were their master’s, they interred it. Magistrates and governors of provinces seem to have possessed the privilege of conferring upon inferior officers, or such persons as had distinguished them.selves, the right of wearing a gold ring. Verres thus pre- sented his secretary with a gold ring in the assembly at Syracuse. Montfaucon mentions in his ‘An- tiquity Explained ’ (English Edition, 1722, vol. hi. p. 146), a Greek seal-ring, which has the shape of a crescent. An illustration is here given of a similarly- formed Roman ring, with the letters Q. s. p. q., Quintanus Senatus Populusque, from the ‘ Gemmae Antiquas Litteratae.’ Some wore rings of gold, covered with a plate of iron. Trimalchion wore two rings, one upon the little finger of his left hand, which was a large gilt one, and the other of gold, set with stars of iron upon the middle of the ring-finger. ICINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 27 Some rings were hollow, and other solid. The Flamines Diales could only wear the former. During the Empire the right of granting the privilege of a gold ring belonged to the emperors, and some were not very scrupulous in conferring this distinction. Severus and Aurelian granted this privilege to all Roman soldiers; Justinian allowed all citizens of the empire to wear such rings. But there always seems to have been a difficulty in re- stricting the use of the gold ring. Tiberius ( a . d . 22) allowed its use to all whose fathers and grandfathers had property of the value of 400,000 sestertia (3,230/.). The restriction, however, was of little avail, and the ambition for the an- nulus aureus became greater than it had ever been before. Juvenal, in his eleventh ‘Satire,’ alludes to a spend- thrift who, after consuming his estate, has nothing but his ring At length, when nought remains a meal to bring, The last poor shift, off comes the Knightly ring, And sad Sir Pollio begs his daily fare, With undistinguished hands, and fingers bare. Martial attacks a person under the name of Zoilus, who had been raised from a state of servitude to Knighthood, and was determined to make the ring, the badge of his new honour, sufficiently conspicuous : — Zoile, quid tota gemmam prsecingere libra Te juvat, et miserum perdire sardonycha ? Annulus iste tuus fuerat modo cruribus aptus ; Non eadem digitis pondera conveniunt. The keeping of the imperial ring {cura annuli) was confided to a state keeper, as the Great Seal with us is placed in custody of the Lord Chancellor. 28 FINGER-RING LORE, With the increasing love of luxury and show, the Romans, as well as the Greeks, covered their fingers with rings, and some wore different ones for summer and winter, immoderate both in number and sized The accompanying illustrations represent a huge ring of coloured paste, all of one piece, blue colour — one of the rings of inexpensive manu- facture in popular use among the lower classes. It is smaller on one side, to occupy less space on the index or little finger. Roman. The following illustrates a supposed Gallo- Roman ring of outrageous proportions, similar to those complained of by Livy (xxxiii., see Appendix), for their extravagant size. It is of bronze, and supposed to represent a cow or bull seated, with a bell round the neck. Heavy rings of gold of a sharp triangular outline were worn on the little finger in the later time of the Empire. A thumb- ^ Addison remarks that when at Rome he had ‘ seen old Roman rings so very thick about, and with such large stones in them, that it is no wonder a fop should reckon them a little cumbersome in the summer season of so hot a climate.’ A Roman ring found in Hungary contained more than two ounces of gold. KINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 29 ring of unusual magnitude and of costly material is repre- sented in Montfaucon. It bears the bust in high relief of the Empress Plotina, the consort of Trajan : she is repre- Supposed Gallo-Roman. 30 FINGER-RING LORE. sented with the imperial diadem. It is supposed to have decorated the hand of some member of the imperial family. The Rev. C. W. King mentions a ring in the Foiild Collec- tion (dispersed by auction in i860), the weight of which, although intended for the little finger, was three ounces. It was set with a large Oriental onyx, not engraved. Juvenal alludes to the ‘ season ’ rings ; — Charged with light summer rings his fingers sweat, Unable to support a gem of weight. The custom of wearing numerous rings must have been at a comparatively early period : it is alluded to both by Plato and Aristophanes. According to Martial, one Clarinus wore daily no less than sixty rings : ‘ Senos Clari- nus omnibus digitis gerit,’ and, what is more remarkable, he loved to sleep wearing them, ‘nec nocte ponit annulos.’ Quintilian notices the custom of wearing numerous rings : ‘ The hand must not be overloaded with rings, especially with such as do not pass over the middle joints of the finger.’ Demosthenes wore many rings and he was stigmatised as unbecomingly vain for doing so in the troubled times of the State. Seneca, describing the luxury and ostentation of the time, says ; AVe adorn our fingers with rings, and a jewel is displayed on every joint.’ As a proof of the universality of gold rings as ornaments in ancient times, we are told that three bushels of them were gathered out of the spoils after Hannibal’s victory at Cannae. This was after the second Punic war. According to Mr. Waterton it is believed that gems were not mounted in rings prior to the LXII. Olympiad. Nero, we are informed, during his choral exhibitions in ICINGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 3 the circus, was attended by children, each of whom wore a gold ring. Galba’s guard, of the Equites, had gold rings as a distinguishing badge. Rock crystal appears to have been much in use among the Romans for making solid finger-rings carved out of one single piece, the face engraved with some intaglio serving for a signet. ‘ All those known to me,’ remarks the Rev. C. King in ‘ Precious Stones,’ &:c., ‘ have the shank moulded into a twisted cable ; one example bore for device the Christian monogram, which indicates the date of the fashion. It would seem that these rings superseded and answered the same purpose as the balls of crystal carried at an earlier period by ladies in their hands for the sake of the delicious coolness during the summer heat.’ Stone rings were in common use, formed chiefly of chalcedony. ‘ It is most probable,’ remarks the Rev. C. W. King, ‘ that the first ideas of these stone rings were borrowed by the Romans from the Persian conical and hemi- spherical seals in the same material. Some of these latter have their sides flattened, and ornamented vdth divers patterns, and thus assume the form of a finger-ring, with an enormously massy shank and very small opening, sufficient, however, to admit the little finger. And this theory of their origin is corroborated by the circumstance that all these Lower Roman examples belong to the times of the Empire, none being ever met with of an early date.’ Silver rings were common : Pliny relates that Arellius Fuscus, when expelled from the equestrian order, and thus deprived of the right of wearing a gold ring, appeared in public with silver rings on his fingers. Among the ancient jewels in the Bibliotheque Nationale 32 FINGER-RING LORE. at Paris is a fine Roman ring, of which the bezel, a cornelian graved hollow, represents a Janus with four faces. Roman. Another Roman ring, also of gold, is attributed to the epoch of the Emperor Hadrian. The three golden figures represented on it are those of Egyptian deities, which have suffered under the hands of a Roman jeweller. It is, how- ever, possible to distinguish them as one of the most im- portant of the Egyptian Pantheon ; that is to say. Horns, Isis, and Nephtys. Isis-Hathor is shown with cow’s ears ; she has near her Horns- Harpocrates, her son, who is crowned with the schent ; the mother and child rise from a lotus flower : on the left is Nephtys, Roman. crowned with a hieroglyphic emblem, accidentally incomplete, but the signification of which is the name even of this divinity, ^ the lady of this house.’ Montfaucon, in his ^ L’Antiquite Expliquee,’ describes a ring with a, gem engraved representing Bellerophon, Pegasus, and the Chimsera. The hero, riding on his famous horse, in the air, throws a dart at the monster below, whose first head is that of a lion, the goat’s head appears on her back, and her tail terminates in a large head of a serpent. This ring was found on the road to Tivoli, among some ashes of a dead body. RJNGS FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. 33 Montfaiicon gives the contents of a Roman lady’s jewel box cut upon the pedestal supporting a statue of Isis, and amongst other rich articles for female decoration are, for her little finger, two rings with diainojids \ on the next finger a ring with many gems {poly- psephjts), emeralds, and one pearl. On the top joint of the same finger, a ring with an emerald. The Roman ladies were prodigal in their display Representation of a ring or- _ namented with busts of of rings : we read that Faustina spent divinities. From the Musee ° ^ du Louvre. 40,000/. of our money, and Domitia 60,000/. for single rings. Greek women wore chiefly ivory and amber rings, and these were less costly and numerous than those used by men. The Rev. C. W. King remarks of Roman rings that it of early date, and set with good intagli, they are almost invariably hollow and light, and consequently are easily crushed. Cicero relates of L. Piso, that ^ while praetor in Spain he was going through the militar}’- exercises, when the gold ring which he wore was, by some accident, broken and crushed. Wishing to have another ring made for him- self, he ordered a goldsmith to be summoned to the forum at Cordova, in front of his own judgment-seat, and weighed out the gold to him in public. He ordered the man to set down his bench in the forum, and make the ring for him in the presence of all, to prove that he had not employed the gold’ of the public treasury, but had made use only of his broken ring.’ The signs engraved on rings were very various, including portraits of friends and ancestors, and subjects connected with mythology and religion. In the reign of Claudius no D 34 FINGER-RING LORE. ring was to bear the portrait of the emperor without a special licence, but Vespasian, some time after, issued an edict, permitting the imperial image to be engraven on rings and brooches. Besides the figures of great personages, there were also representations of popular events : thus, on Pompey’s ring, like that of Sylla, were three trophies, emblems of his three victories in Europe, Asia, and Africa. After the murder of this great general, his seal-ring, as Plutarch tells us, was brought to Caesar, who shed tears on receiving it. The Roman senate refused to credit the news of the death of Pompey, until Caesar produced before them his seal- ring. On the ring of Julius Caesar was a representation of an armed Venus, as Head of Reguius, ^e claimed to be a descendant of the between cornucopise. i j rr